Mothers of many Crimean soldiers, who were drafted into the Ukrainian army when their homeland was part of Ukraine, are having their worst nightmare – that their sons would be seen as enemies at home or even never come back.

As Crimea became a part of Russia, these Crimean soldiers drafted
into the Ukrainian army, became “trapped” in another country.
Mothers can now only speak to them by phone from time to time, RT
has learnt.

“I tell him, ‘Hello, son, I love you’. That is all I can tell
him,” Susannah, a mother of a Crimean soldier serving in
Ukraine, told RT.

“Some officers ask now who comes from Crimea, they put down
their last names but don’t explain why,” she adds.

The women still don’t know whether Kiev will allow their sons to
see their homeland. The soldiers, in their turn, don’t look
optimistic either.

“My son and his friends think that they won’t return
home,” says Elena, a mother of an 18-year old Crimean
soldier, “I try to tell him to stay calm, that Ukraine,
Russia, and the Crimean government will solve this and you will
be back home, anything to keep him calm.”

The public uprising in Crimea culminated in a referendum, in
which an overwhelming majority of over 96 percent voted in favor
of reunification with Russia. On March 21, Russia finalized the
legal process of taking Crimea and the city of Sevastopol under
its sovereignty.